In his latest video blog, President Medvedev call on Russian people to spend more time doing sports and gave a personal example by skiing at Krasnaya Polyana resort near Sochi.

Dear friends!

I wish a Happy New Year to all of you once more. I hope you’ve had a good time on holiday, which has been quite long this year.

I’d like to talk to you about one thing I believe to be very important. It’s the development of sports in Russia.

The fact is, a lot has been done lately to promote sports and physical education and create proper recreational facilities for millions of Russian citizens. But, to be honest, what has been done is not nearly enough. So maybe this holiday is a proper occasion to think about ways of developing sports in our country, so that millions of our citizens will be able to take part in this healthy way of recreation.

You know that Russia will host the Winter Olympics in 2014. The preparations are in full swing, as the saying goes. We’re building new sports facilities and stadiums. We’re doing all that in spite of the global financial crisis, which has affected the financial situation in Russia and the whole world. But I believe this is an area where we shouldn’t spare money. In the end, this is what determines the way people feel, what is called the national health.

Because of this, I think we all need to learn how to spend our leisure time and relax. Frankly, we didn’t have a culture of recreation during the Soviet times. Each of us who has ever gone abroad has been surprised that our neighbours know well how to unwind.

We need to try and create a similar sports and recreation culture in Russia, so that each of us will be able to spend the New Year holidays, or summer vacation, with our families, when we have the proper facilities to engage in sports, and have fun doing that.

Leisure time is always a very personal issue, and each has their own idea about how to spend it best. This year, I went skiing in Krasnaya Polyana in Sochi. I believe that we already have the proper conditions and facilities for recreation – the same as there are in many European countries.

I can tell you honestly – it’s been great fun, taking a break in this way. I really loved it.

I’d like to say a few more words about the way my videoblog works. You know that on October 7 we started posting video addresses online. And now we’re ready to do what many of you have been asking for. Most of it was about posting comments. So I’m pleased to tell you that it’s now possible. I hope you’ll be able to say what you want to by posting your comments at this video blog. I’m looking forward to reading them!